Extreme black holes probably have 'hair'

[Judi Lynn]

By Mike Wall 6 hours ago

There appears to be more to some black holes than just mass, spin and charge.



Artist's illustration showing a black hole emitting jets of fast-moving plasma above and below it, as matter swirls around in an orbiting disk.
(Image: © NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

Black holes may not be so simple after all.

According to a leading idea known as the "no hair" or "black hole uniqueness" theorem, black holes can be fully characterized using just three data points — their mass, spin and electric charge. There's no other observable information to be had about these light-gobbling behemoths, which therefore seem to be sleekly and uniquely "bald."

But a new study casts doubt on the no-hair idea, or at least its universal application: Computer simulations suggest that "extreme" black holes — the ones whose spin or electrical charge is fully maxed out — do sport a few wispy hairs here and there.

"This new result is surprising, because the black hole uniqueness theorems are well established, [as is] their extension to extreme black holes," lead author Lior Burko, of Theiss Research in La Jolla, California, said in a statement. "There has to be an assumption of the theorems that are not satisfied to explain how the theorems do not apply in this case."

More:
https://www.space.com/extreme-black-holes-have-hair

[Nitram]

1. Interesting stuff.